Having once upon a time been a top level Desktop Engineer for a Fortune 100 company that used Windows, I now am an exclusive Mac/Console user and haven’t really done much with Windows since Windows 7. But there are often games I want that are PC only, usually indies and puzzle/point and click adventure games.
The Steam Deck had a lot of downsides for me but the price was attractive. Almost bought it during the sale but then the Ally was announced and I preordered as soon as I could. It certainly won’t be a seamless experience, but I’m looking forward to being able to play just about any game that runs on Windows (I usually play Genshin Impact on PS5, but hate playing on mobile when I’m out and about and Steam Deck can’t play it).
Any other future owners? I’m really looking forward to be able to play Stray Gods, the musical game by ex BioWare writers and scored by Austin Wintory in August.
ASUS makes ok hardware but post launch support is awful. Good luck getting it repaired as well. Valve made a much better product, even if it’s not got as high of specs.
Fortunately my retailer has never given me issues. If there’s a problem with the device that isn’t my fault, they replace it and they deal with Asus. Don’t think I’ve ever dealt with the manufacturer of a product I’ve owned when something goes wrong.
It’s not about the specs for me, if one the games I play isn’t compatible without jumping through hoops on Steam Deck, it’s a big downside. I’m familiar enough with ASUS and technical enough that I should be able to handle it unless it’s a hardware failure.